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From: Michael S <already5chosen@yahoo.com>
Newsgroups: comp.arch
Subject: Re: The Design of Design
Date: Tue, 7 May 2024 11:38:45 +0300
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On Tue, 7 May 2024 06:54:17 -0000 (UTC)
Thomas Koenig <tkoenig@netcologne.de> wrote:

> Tim Rentsch <tr.17687@z991.linuxsc.com> schrieb:
> 
> > Like I said, I'm not a fan of JCL, not at all, I just
> > think it wasn't as bad as the commentary in The Design of Design
> > makes it out to be.  
> 
> I think the point he made is subtly different.
> 
> The UNIX shells have demonstrated that a command interface is,
> and should be, a programming language in its own right.  

I wouldn't give that credit to UNIX.
I was not around, but my impression is that by time of creation of UNIX
it was a common understanding. For example, DEC supplied RSX-11 with
DCL at about the same time [as UNIX got Thompson shell) and I never
heard that anybody considered it novel.

> JCL has
> the rudiments of a programming language with its COND parameter
> (which ties my brain into knots every time I think about it) and
> the possibility of iteration via submitting new jobs via INTRDR,
> plus its macro facility (but with global variables only).
> 
> Viewed through that lens, I can't think of any (serious) programming
> language that is worse than JCL.  Joke languages need not apply.